The Night
by vi.riot
Summary: They tried. They really tried. But it just wasn't enough.


_My first try at writing a fan fic. Let's see how it goes._

* * *

"Maka!" cried the silver scythe, the weapon-technician pair falling through the air, hurtling straight towards the ground. Receiving no answer, Soul quickly reverted into his human form and held his paralyzed meister closely to his chest above him, as they plunged downward, directly into a stack of wooden crates. Having shielded Maka from most of the earth-shattering impact, Soul groaned heavily, intense pains blazing throughout his back.

"I have..." muttered Maka, barely conscious, a shaking hand trying to reaching towards the hovering Demon God avove, "To stop... The Kishin...".

Unable to withstand the pain and fatigue, her hand fell limp, as did the rest of her body. Ignoring the searing agony, Soul pushed himself up, Maka still on top of him, making sure she was okay.

"You really are something..."

* * *

His back was still throbbing from the painfull fall, arms still wrapped around his meister, who had finally collapsed and was resting with a pained look on her face. Soul turned his attention skywards, witnessing Asura's triumphant escape from Shinigami and Death City.

"Gah. All that work for nothing... Not cool at all..." muttered the weapon. Casting glances at his surroundings, he found the rest of the gang making their way towards him.

They didn't look so well.

Kid had his arms thrown around Liz and Patty's shoulders, using them as support as he hobbled forward between them. His face, visible with dry, crusted blood, was far from his usual standard of symmetry and perfection. His golden eyes screamed of pain and anger, only chained down by his weakened body, preventing him from doing almost anything else but count on his weapons for help.

Liz was clearly devastated at the young Death God's condition, unused to seeing him being defeated so easily. Showing utmost concern for every single pain he had in his body, she remembered the old times when Patty and herself had to take care of each other like every day was their last day, which was true, the dark streets of Brooklyn being one of the most dangerous places in the world to be on at night. Even Patty showed no sign of her usual playful and reckless attitude, instead taking care in showing a very weak Kid every step he should take so he avoids further pain and agony.

Reaching Soul and Maka, the Thompson sisters set Kid down on the ground next to them, letting him rest more comfortably, despite the cold, hard ground. Liz plopped onto the ground next to Kid, gripping his hand as she hoped he was okay. Patty gave a hesitant thumbs up to the onlooking scythe as she too sat on the opposite side of Kid and took his hand.

Forcing his eyes away from the injured Shinigami, Soul caught sight of his best friend.

Black Star did not look any better. In fact, he looked worse. Tsubaki was half supporting, half carrying him while he limped. His usual bubblegum blue hair was covered in dirt and dust, drooping over his eyes. Blood, similar to Kid, was visible on his face. But it was not his physical appearance that made him look worse. It was his expression, his body language. There was only one way to describe his friend.

The usual energetic, confident demeanor of Black Star had been completely replaced by a downtrodden, destroyed and defeated one.

Tsubaki, tears streaming down her face, saw Maka lying unconscious in Soul's arms and showed an extremely worried expression, which Soul waved aside by forcing on a small, sad smile. Slightly relieved, Tsubaki tried to return the smile, but was unable to, as she also placed Black Star down on the ground nearby. Sitting between the scythe-meister pair and her unconscious partner, she began twirling her ponytail around her fingers out of habit and worry as she stared at Black Star.

Silently, the weapons tended to their meisters for a period of time, as the chaos around them finally settled.

* * *

"There. You're all patched up. Weapons heal quickly, you should be okay." said Nygus, patting Soul's fresh bandages around his torso lightly. The pain in his back was still present, but had at least subsided. However, his own agony was the least of his worries.

"What about them?" asked Soul, as he motioned towards his friends, most of them lying on the ground, resting, or sitting quietly with their eyes closed.

"They should be fine as well. Black Star and Kid took the hardest hits, they'll take a while to heal, but they're okay and that's what matters." Nygus replied. "Shinigami sama said he'd come by in a few minutes to talk to you all." Soul grunted in response, walking towards a sleeping Maka and sitting by her side quietly.

"Hey yo hey yo!" exclaimed Shinigami a little too loudly. "Sorry. But I hope you kids are a-okay!"

By this point, the only one truly awake was Soul, as he countered grimly, "What's going to happen?"

Letting out a sigh, "Ah. What's done is done. Let's not worry about it to-night." Shinigami replied, "You kids have the day off tomorrow. Stay home and rest. Relax. You deserve it."

"I should think so." Soul grunted, slightly exasperated at the Death God's avoidance of the question.

"You kids should start getting home. Tell the others I said good job, Soul~kun."

"Yeah."

* * *

The weak and worried group of friends arrived at Kid's place, being the closest to the school. Despite the distance, it was a long, quiet trek because of the injuries of some, but nonetheless, the night was over and everyone was desperate to climb into bed and pass out.

"Are you sure you guys will be okay?" Liz asked Soul and Tsubaki, as she looked from Maka, whom Soul had been carrying on his back, to Black Star, who was conscious but deathly quiet. "You can stay over if you want, we've got lots of room."

"It's okay, Liz~chan. We're not that far away." Tsubaki answered. Soul nodded in agreement, also pointing out that Maka said she wanted to go home. "Just call us if you need anything, okay?" Liz added, Patty standing by her side. Kid was standing on his own now, his Shinigami body already starting to heal. But he was still weak, so he waved lightly from his spot against the wall.

"Let's go, Tsubaki." Soul muttered, turning around and heading for her and Black Star's place next. "Hai."

* * *

Having finally gotten home after dropping everyone else off, Tsubaki promising an early afternoon visit the next day, Soul, with Maka still clinging to his back, carried her into her room and set her onto her bed, where she immediately flung her legs up onto the soft mattress and pulled on the covers.

"Change first, you idiot." Soul commented, watching as Maka cuddled into her warm blankets.

"I'm too tired... I already took off my coat..." she said, pointing at the trench coat she had worn almost every day for the year, strewn across the back of her chair.

"By the way, Soul..." she said, turning to look at her silver haired scythe.

"Can you... Um... Stay with me tonight?"

There was silence. However, it was a true sign of their friendship that Soul did not question her reason for the request. Instead, he gave a weary sigh, took off his own jacket and sat down on the floor, his back leaning against her bed as he closed his eyes and prepared to fall into a deep sleep.

A voice reached his ears once more, this time much lighter and gentler.

"I meant... Can you... Really be with me tonight?"

A confused look crawled onto Soul's face as he turned around to look at her. Maka patted the bed next to her, indicating space for both of them to sleep comfortably. Her bright green eyes shone with sadness and despair, clearly craving company.

Soul immediately understood. After the lifechanging events of the day, she needed a friend.

Someone to be close to, so she'd feel safe.

So they'd protect her from terrifying nightmares that she was bound to have that night.

On the surface, Soul showed reluctance to share the same bed with his meister, knowing that there could be some awkwardness. But deep down inside, he was quite relieved and glad. He had not wanted to leave her alone for the night, especially after what they had all gone through.

His meister was the most important aspect of his life. His life revolved around hers.

He wanted to be close to her, so he knew she was safe.

So he'd protect from nightmares, to wake her up quickly if she did have them that night.

"Well...?" Maka asked, almost pleadingly.

Having made his decision a long time ago, Soul looked Maka in the eyes and gave her a rare, genuine smile, as he sat down on the bed and said, "Scoot over."

Lying down and making sure there was some space between them, so Maka didn't feel uncomfortable, Soul pulled the covers over the both of them and closed his eyes.

A moment later, he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Maka inching closer to him, close enough that her head was resting against his back.

"Soul... Why?" a weak voice made its way to the demon scythe's ears.

"Why what?" he said, eyes still closed, Maka's head still leaning against him.

"Why couldn't we stop them?"

There was silence. It was an innocent question. She simply wanted to know why they all failed, despite their hard efforts. But the answer did not come out. There was no good answer.

Forcing his eyes to open, Soul flipped around so he was facing Maka. Her green eyes became teary as they stared into his own ruby eyes. In the spur of the moment, Soul brushed away a few strands of hair from her emerald orbs, as he received a sigh in understanding. Snaking his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer, so letting her head rest against his chest. Her fingers clutched his shirt tightly, afraid of the future now that the Kishin was reborn.

But she was strong. He was strong. Together, they would get through it all.

Soul finally closed his eyes, as did Maka, gradually falling asleep in each other's arms, cuddling comfortably in each other's warmth, relishing in each other's company.

Outside, in the night sky, the moon grinned maniacally.

* * *

A clock tower nearby struck 2 in the afternoon, as the lazing sun rose high above in the sky. It was quite a contrast from the night before.

"HIYAAH! THE GREAT BLACK STAR IS HERE!" shouted a voice from outside Soul and Maka's apartment. "Ssssh, Black Star, they still might be sleeping!" said a much quieter voice. Tsubaki pulled out a key from her pocket, opening their door. "Hey, the great me was going to kick down the door! Where did you even get that key, anyway?" "Maka gave it to me. Soul and Maka also have a spare key for our place. Now keep quiet, please?" Putting a finger to her lips, she motioned for Black Star to follow her into their apartment.

A stupendous smile stretched across the blue haired assassin's face, as he followed his dark haired weapon into the warm place. "I'm hungry." Black Star said, making his way towards the kitchen.

"Aah, Black Star, try not to make a mess! It's not our food!" Tsubaki whispered, knowing that it was an impossible request. "I'll go see if they're awake."

Tiptoe-ing across the living room and into the dim hallway, Tsubaki passed by Soul's bedroom, door closed, and got to Maka's room. She knocked on the door lightly, suspecting to see her either sleeping or sitting at her desk, reading when she opened the door.

"Maka~san? Are you awake?" she whispered lightly, afraid of waking Soul up in his room. Turning the doorknob and pushing it open, she inched her head in slightly to peek inside.

Just as she expected, Maka was sound asleep, her back towards the door.

However, what she did not expect, was to see a pair of arms around her, holding her close to someone with a mess of white hair. It looked like Maka had cuddled as close to Soul as possible during the night, craving his warmth, his comfort.

"Oops." Tsubaki accidentally let out, covering her mouth in fear of waking them up. But it was too late.

A pair of crimson eyes shot open, scanning his surroundings. Seeing Tsubaki peek in through the doorway, he relaxed, breathing a small sigh of relief as he glanced at Maka, still peacefully sleeping within his arms.

Motioning for Tsubaki to come a little closer, Soul whispered, "I'm assuming Black Star's here as well. Just make yourself at home if you're going to wait for us. I'm going to stay here until she wakes up." Gesturing towards Maka, Soul gave her a light smirk. Tsubaki nodded her head in appreciation, backing out of the room, gave Soul a knowing smile, and closed the door, heading towards the kitchen to find Black Star.


End file.
